Wanda Coleman is a well-known American poet who has published 18 books of poetry and fiction, including Bathwater Wine, for which she won the 1999 Lenore Marshall Poetry Prize (the first African-American woman to receive that award). Her collection Mercurochrome was a finalist for the National Book Award in 2001. A seminal figure of literary L.A., her honors include Guggenheim Foundation and NEA fellowships. Her new collection of poems, The World Falls Away, has just been published by the University of Pittsburgh Press. “Miss Jones” is from Coleman’s collection Heavy Daughter Blues, published by Black Sparrow Press. It is reprinted here by permission. The author’s photograph is by Susan Carpendale.